The invention generally relates to a technique and apparatus for drilling and completing a well in one half trip.
One way to drill a hydrocarbon well is to use the hydraulic power of drilling fluid (mud or water, as a few examples) to turn a drill bit. More specifically, a conventional drill string may include, among other components, a drill bit and a motor (called a “mud motor”) that is located near the bottom of the string above the drill bit. The drilling fluid typically flows from a mud pump at the surface of the well, through the central passageway of the drill string and returns to the mud pump via the annulus of the well. During drilling, the drill string remains stationary (as an example), and the drilling fluid exerts a rotational force on a rotor of the mud motor, which causes the drill bit (which is connected to the rotor) to turn. Besides driving the rotation of the drill bit, the drilling fluid may serve other functions, such as cooling off the drill bit, returning removed earth to the surface of the well and suppressing production.
A casing string may be installed as the well is being drilled. The installation of the casing string may be the first of many steps to complete the well, as typically, several downhole trips directed to well completion are made after the drilling operation. The downhole trips (defined as a round trip into and out of the wellbore) may include, for example, a trip to perforate the well and one or more trips to install production tubing, pumps, packers, liners, sand screens, etc. Each trip into the well typically increases the cost of completing the well.
Thus, there is a continuing need for better ways to reduce the number of downhole trips used to complete a well.